THIS time, it was a gentle tap on the shoulder rather than the fierce shove in the back that led to Gary Cahill shattering his jaw in two places.

The 32-year-old England defender, eating on holiday in a restaurant in Dubai in March, turned round slowly to discover that Dries Mertens had finally come over to apologise for robbing him of his first major tournament.

The pair had only met the once before. Cahill, a young stylish centre-back who had impressed after making the transition from Bolton to Chelsea 18 months previously, had done enough in his nine appearances for England to be fully worth his place on the plane to Euro 2012.

Then just 18 minutes into the final warm-up game at Wembley, Cahill was confidently shepherding an over-hit Marouane Fellaini pass back to his waiting goalkeeper when… Shove!

The diminutive Mertens, only 5ft 7ins, planted both his hand into the small of Cahill’s back and pushed violently with all his might.

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Gary Cahill shattered his jaw after being pushed in the back by Dries Mertens (Image: GETTY)

I felt the age I was at, the form I was in, I felt I would’ve played. It was a huge blow

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Crack!... Cahill crashed helplessly into Joe Hart’s broad frame and slumped to the floor. His hands went instinctively to his face and he knew instantly his dreams for that summer were as shattered as his jaw. He cried tears of pain and anguish into the Wembley turf.

Seated more comfortably on the couches of the FA’s media centre near their training base in Repino, Cahill was asked about his memories of the incident in anticipation of what it turns out could be the third meeting of the pair in Kaliningrad tomorrow.

“It had big consequences after the game,” he said. “Obviously, I was literally going on the plane, that was a huge time for me. I felt like I was in conditions to start at that tournament.

“I felt the age I was at, the form I was in, I felt I would’ve played. It was a huge blow. It took a little to get over in the summer.”

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Mertens, who was shown only a yellow card, subsequently apologised on Twitter.

“My head space at that moment in time was locked on just missing the tournament,” said Cahill. “I’m not massive on Twitter anyway so I probably wouldn’t have seen it.”

Nevertheless, England team-mate Joleon Lescott described the challenge as “more reckless and dangerous than most two-footed tackles”.

Cahill, though, despite his disappointment, chose to see things differently.

“He didn’t need to do it, but there’s no way he did that to do that damage and for me to miss a tournament,” said Cahill. “It’s one of those things in football. Unfortunately, it was me the consequences fell to.

“The same time, I like to see the good in people. How many times are you playing and, if you’re frustrated and don’t get the ball, you shove someone out the way? I think it was one of those things, it was a freak situation.

Gary Cahill accepted Dries Mertens' apology (Image: GETTY)

“I hit Joe, probably one of the worst people to hit in the whole team because his shoulders are like that [enormous]. I held no grudges against him I was just really disappointed with my situation that I was missing that tournament.”

Cahill got to play in all of England’s subsequent World Cup campaign in 2014 and the Euro 2016 debacle. Mertens also featured in those two tournaments, with the pair never crossing paths.

Then, just three months ago, came the second Cahill versus Mertens encounter, completely out of the blue.

“I was in Dubai, within the last year, in March when I missed the last squad,” said Cahill. “I was on holiday in a restaurant and he took time out to come over and apologise for that situation, which for me was dead and buried.

“I actually respected him a hell of a lot for doing that. That’s not something he had to do, he didn’t know me, I didn’t even know he was in there to be honest. He came over and apologised for that and that’s years down the line.

“We shook hands and I said ‘look, it’s finished with’. I don’t know him from Adam but the guy he is, but it was a great gesture and he’s obviously a decent fella.”